Home For The Holidays
by AGoldenCharm
Summary: Mike is finally back in town for the holiday break, and there's one thing he hasn't been able to get out of his mind. Or rather, one person...


Mike likes to watch the trees hurtle past the bus windows, partially because he has nothing better to do during his five hour bus ride back to Lima, but also because it makes him feel like he's taking an extensive journey, even though it's nothing more than a grungy bus ride through a couple of Midwest states. It makes the trip feel substantial and real, though to be honest, he's been looking forward to going home for so long now that he hardly needs another reminder that within a couple of hours, he'll be back in Lima, Ohio.

He picks at the bag of trail mix he's packed for the bus ride and tries to ignore the wailing baby three rows in front of him. He's never liked buses- or long car rides in general- seeing as how he's always had a hard time keeping still for more than fifteen minutes, but he feels even more antsy than usual today. He can feel his leg shaking the way it always does when he's anxious or restless, or in this case- both.

He's excited to see everyone again. It was great working with New Directions for Grease, but it felt short-lived. This time, he'll have nearly three weeks back at home, which means quality time with his parents, quality time with his friends, and enough time to finally do what's been on his mind for way too long.

Mike doesn't even notice when the bus screeches to a stop at the transit station in Lima. It's only when everyone clambers to get up when he realizes, and he hastily grabs his duffel bag from the overhead compartment before following the lineup off the bus. His eyes scan the parking lot for his parents' familiar beige Camry and he can't help but break into a grin when he sees both his parents standing just fifty feet away, waving frantically at him until he catches a glimpse of them.

"Michael!"

Mike shoulders his duffel bag and hurries over to his parents, who envelop him in a tangle of hugs and warm welcomes. They exchange hellos and "I-missed-you"s and as Mike stows his bag in the trunk of the car and his dad claps him on the back while his mom fusses over how skinny he's gotten- even though he knows full well his weight hasn't changed one bit- Mike feels at home again.

* * *

Mike stares at his suitcase helplessly. He's been doing so for the past ten minutes and he feels like a prepubescent girl getting ready for her first date. He knows it doesn't matter in the slightest what he wears today, but there's something nerve-wracking about heading back to McKinley without any real reason. He's no longer a student there (which _still_ feels weird to say) and he's not helping with the school musical anymore. This time, he's just there to visit.

Quinn's supposed to pick him up, along with the rest of the Glee Club graduates, and they're supposed to head to the New Directions rehearsal together as a surprise. She's due at his place in less than five minutes, and he's still standing in his PJs without a clue what to wear. Hastily, Mike grabs a red cardigan and a black v-neck t-shirt, along with his favorite pair of dark gray skinny jeans from his suitcase. He still has to brush his teeth and do his hair before heading out- the last thing he wants is to show up looking like a total train wreck- especially if he plans on facing Tina.

And it's not just that he's _seeing_ her today, it's that he has this whole plan set up in his head for what he wants to say and do and everything has to go right today. As he zips up his jeans and shuffles to the bathroom, he thinks about her. About her smile and her eyes and her laugh. His whole body feels like it's aching. He brushes his teeth numbly and stares at his reflection in the mirror, feeling impatient. His mind is buzzing.

Their conversation after the Grease performance rings just as clearly in his head as if it happened yesterday. It had been an enormous relief to hear that she hadn't moved on and fallen in love with some other guy. That she still had feelings for him and that maybe, _just maybe_, she'd be willing to give things another try.

That's where today comes in.

* * *

They get to the classroom before rehearsal starts, so it's completely empty. Well, except for Finn, who's at the front of the room in a _sweater vest_, of all things, making notes on a piece of paper at the piano.

"Heyyyy!" Mercedes calls out as soon as they walk into the room. Quinn, Puck, Santana, and Mike follow behind her.

Finn's head snaps up at her voice and he beams, "Hey guys! You're all back!"

"Duh," Santana rolls her eyes. "I swear you say the dumbest things sometimes, Hudson." She grabs a chair and sets it up next to the piano, swinging her legs around so that she's sitting in it backwards.

Finn grimaces, "Good to see you too, Santana. I didn't realize you guys were coming in today."

"Are we interrupting an important lesson plan or something?" Puck snorts, eyeing Finn's sweater vest with about as much scorn as you'd expect from Noah Puckerman.

"Well, yeah, kind of!" Finn juts out his jaw indignantly, "We have two more rehearsals before out winter concert, and I want to make sure everything sounds perfect."

"God, you _do_ sound like Mr. Schue," Quinn arches a brow, looking as though she's trying very, _very_ hard not to roll her eyes as well.

Finn grins, "Thanks. I think."

Quinn opens her mouth, but frowns and closes it again, shaking her head.

Mike lets his eyes wander around the choir room as the rest of them catch up, chatting about college and holiday plans. It looks the same, for the most part, which was to be expected. There are still tacky but endearing decorations littering the walls and the trophies in the glass case makes him smile. The flood of memories- everything from his first day of Glee Club when he, Puck, and Matt had sheepishly walked into the room together to sectionals to after school rehearsals to nationals- is overwhelming. It's like a heavy crash of emotions he's not used to feeling and it's dizzying to say the least. He rubs his eyes wearily.

"If you're so worked up about it, you should just talk to Mr. Martinez about it. He's chill, I'm sure he'll understand." The voice undeniably belongs to Artie, and it makes Mike swing around to face the classroom door, only to spot him and Tina walking in together.

"I know," Tina replies, looking fully stressed out. "But I feel awful about it! I should have read the rubric more carefully. I can't believe I left out an entire section for my project."

Artie says something in response- probably words of reassurance or something- but Mike has lost all ability to listen or understand anything.

Tina has this incredible ability to look more beautiful than his mind manages to remember, and each time he sees her again, it's like this crushing blow, reminding him that yes, she really _is_ that gorgeous.

She's wearing- a _Cheerios_ uniform. He does a double-take and shakes his head rapidly just to make sure he isn't seeing things. Tina used to say how much she wanted to try out for the Cheerios, and he used to tell her to go for it if it was what she really wanted, but she always sort of shrugged it off and mumbled, "Nah". But now... now she's on the team? Good for her, he wants to say out loud, but doesn't.

And, well, he'd hate to come off like a total Neanderthal, but she looks... _hot_ in the uniform. Like, seriously sexy as hell the way she walks in and the skirt sort of sashays at her hips and spotlights her long, long, _long_ legs and god_damn_ he forgot how good her legs looked.

Her hair is bundled into one large braid that makes her look unbelievably adorable and just because old habits die hard, he finds himself wanting to tug at it teasingly the way he used to when they were still dating. She used to grouse about it jokingly but she never really minded when he played with her hair. Which was a blessing, really, since he used to do it all the time.

When she and Artie enter the room, their eyes settle on all the returning graduates and both their eyes light up with delight.

"_HEYYY!_" Artie and Tina chorus in unison, their excitement bubbling over in their voices.

As Quinn wraps an arm around Tina and Puck and Artie do some weird cross between a fist bump and a handshake, Mike lingers in the back of the crowd a little, feeling a little bit awkward as he waits to exchange greetings with them. Once Tina has made her way through all the hugs and "hello"s before him, her eyes finally land on his and he can see the corners of her mouth flicker upward.

"Hey," she says, not too softly, but gentle enough to send shivers down his spine.

"Hey," Mike echoes. Pathetically.

Everyone else has either purposefully or coincidentally turned the other way and struck up conversation with each other, leaving the two of them slightly off to the side together.

"So... Cheerios?" Mike kicks himself internally. He can't even manage to properly string together a full sentence.

"Yeah," Tina grins, giving her skirt a little ruffle with a turn of her hips, which fully slackens Mike's jaw before he manages to get it together and recompose himself.

"Congrats," he finally says with a smile. "What changed your mind about trying out?"

"We all wanted to be a part of other clubs at McKinley," Tina explains, half-gesturing to Artie and the rest of the Glee Club members who start to file in. "I figured this was the perfect opportunity to just go for it."

"I knew you'd get in."

She rolls her eyes but beams, "Thanks, Mike. How's school?"

"Hard," Mike admits truthfully. "The teachers are all insanely strict. They make my dad look like Santa Claus or something."

Tina cracks up, "Oh god. Your dad in a Santa costume."

Mike winces, "He wouldn't be caught dead in one."

They both laugh as Finn claps his hands, presumably trying to start rehearsal.

"Hey- you free after rehearsal?" Mike asks hastily, "I was thinking we could catch up over coffee or something?"

Tina gives her a mega wattage smile that makes him feel a little faint. "Of course."

* * *

The Lima Bean is surprisingly empty for a Wednesday afternoon. Usually, there are hoards of students as well as several adults who just got off work swarming the booths and counter, but today, it's oddly quiet. Mike waits for Tina to order her green tea latte before ordering a large coffee for himself, and subsequently waits for her to pay for her drink before paying for his own. They collect their orders from the pick-up counter together and Mike can feel his heartbeat quickening.

He's gone through what he wants to say today a million times already, but he knows with Tina it's best to just sort of wing it- she's never been a fan of lengthy, stilted speeches and he doubts things have changed. But as they settle into a free booth together, Mike can't help but worry that somewhere down the line, he's gonna say something totally wrong and mess up his chances entirely. Not that today is about luck or chance. Today is just about his feelings and her feelings and hoping that somehow, they would line up just right.

"You know Finn owns five sweater vests now?" Tina pipes up conversationally as she sips her latte. "Carole went out and bought him a whole stack of them after he bought one from Gap."

Mike chortles, "Finn Hudson in a sweater vest. Who would have guessed?"

Tina giggles, "He's enjoying it, I think."

"Good for him. It's great seeing him so confident with himself."

She nods in agreement, "Maybe he's finally found his niche. Anyway, how have _you _been?"

"I- good. Good," he says it more clearly the second time, managing a half-smile. "Glad to be home, mostly. Though I don't know what to do with all my free time now that I'm here. I think I'm taking my mom sledding tomorrow."

"Oh my god," Tina claps a hand over her mouth. "Julia hurtling down a slide on a plastic sled. Another mental image I'd never thought would come up."

"I know," Mike grins. "But she's always wanted to go but never has so I said I'd take her. My dad thinks we're nuts."

"Just bring her back in one piece, okay?" Tina nudges his arm teasingly from across the table. "We both know how reckless you can get on those hills."

"Hey!" Mike folds his arms defensively. "That was _one_ time!"

They had gone sledding together all the time back when they were both in high school and one particular time, he had insisted on creating a small mogul out of the excess snow for them to ride over and she had looked on in horror as he packed snow into a small mound and eagerly led them to the top of the hill with the sled in hand.

"You're crazy," she had said firmly. "You're gonna get us killed."

But she had agreed to do it anyway and they had whizzed down the hill and once they hit the mogul, they had both toppled out of the sled, but instead of hurtling down the hill dangerously in a tangle of limbs, they had skidded immediately to a stop, her body on top of his. They had both burst out in laughter and he had kissed her fiercely, long and hard, until a kid had walked by and made barfing noises at the sight of the two of them making out in the middle of the hill.

"I swear I could see my life flashing before my eyes," Tina's voice brings him back to the present. "Don't break your mother's bones, okay?"

Mike chuckles good-naturedly, "I won't, I won't." He hesitates for a moment before suggesting, "You should come with us."

Tina's hand stops mid-air in an attempt to pick up her latte as she stares at him with slightly widened eyes. Her lips tighten a little. "I don't know, Mike..."

"C'mon, we used to go all the time."

"But that was when we were dating-"

"-I know, I know, but still-"

"I just feel like sledding was always thing we did as a couple, you know? It was a relationship thing. Like- like ice skating and dinner dates and Junior Mints."_  
_

They used to share a giant box of Junior Mints every time they went to the movies together when they were dating. Just thinking about it made him want to go back to those days.

"I- I actually kind of wanted to talk to you about that."

"About what?"

"Remember the conversation we had last time I was in town?"

"Of course," she says immediately, her brows knitting together.

"I've been giving it a lot of thought," he says slowly, playing with the plastic lid on his coffee cup. "Like... a _lot_ of thought."

"Okay... So have I."

"Well, I just... I don't know, T. These past few months in Chicago have been great, don't get me wrong. And my roommate and a lot of my new friends in college keep telling me to 'take advantage of being single' or 'get out there' or whatever, but I just... I don't _want_ to be dating other people. I guess heading off to college made me really realize just how much... how much I want to be with _you_."

Tina doesn't say anything at first. She's quiet, staring at him straight in the eye as she rubs her neck with her hand, looking almost weary. When she _does_finally talk, he feels his heart jump.

"Mike... That's very, very sweet..."

"Is this a 'but' statement?" Mike interrupts, unable to stop himself.

"No! Not exactly, at least," Tina says softly. "It's just... what I said last time around is still true. I like where I am now. I like how things are going for me. But I also miss you like crazy. Even now, with both of us sitting here together, I still miss you."

"Then-"

"- I just don't want to mess things up," Tina says with a sad smile. "If we do this long distance thing and things end up falling apart, what if it ends terribly? We parted ways on such good terms at the end of the summer, and I'm glad I can still chat with you once in a while even with you at college. But if we start things up again and things turn sour, then what? Will we end up hating each other?"

Tina has always been the practical one. She has such a knack for keeping her head on straight without being insensitive or brash, and Mike has always admired that. But he'd be lying if he said it didn't scare the shit out of him that what she's saying now could mean "_no_".

"I couldn't hate you, you know that."

"That's not the point, Mike-"

"- No, I get what you're saying, trust me, I do!" Mike says earnestly, "I'm just saying that I guess I want you to know that I'm unhappy when I'm not with you and that I'm willing to try long distance if you are. But I'm also not trying to push anything on you. If you don't want this, then that's that."

"I know you're not. And I hate not being with you, I'm just- I'm just worried."

"You're allowed to be worried."

They fall silent for a while as they both sip their drinks and hold each other's gaze wordlessly. Mike wants to fold his hand around hers on the table but he refrains from doing so by wrapping both hands around his cup.

"I really do miss you," Tina finally says quietly, breaking the silence. "I think- I think I just need some time to think things through."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Mike leans forward, placing his cup back on the table, "No pressure, okay? Seriously. And I know you said that sledding was a couple-y thing to do, but if you change your mind about tomorrow, my mom and I are leaving at 6, after she gets off work."

Tina closes her eyes for a fraction of a second- it's almost a blink but it lingers just a little longer than normal and he can see her eyelashes fluttering against her skin- and then smiles. "Okay," she says again.

They finish their drinks and they talk about Joffrey and New Directions and Christmas for the rest of the afternoon. He doesn't know if their conversation really went the way he wanted it to, and it wasn't exactly the response he had hoped for, but the anxiety has lifted. To be honest, he's just glad to be around her again.

* * *

"Mike, did you remember to bring gloves?"

"Mom, you already asked me that three times by now!" Mike calls from the front door, where he's waiting for his mother to finish getting ready. She's scurrying around the house, grabbing her scarf and hat and mittens and she keeps asking him if he's got enough layers on to be warm and he keeps telling her yes, but she keeps right on asking anyway._  
_

"Sorry, sorry, I'm almost done! Where did I put my earmuffs...?"

"They're around your neck, Mom."

"Right. Right, sorry. Hang on, I'm going to grab a couple of snacks for us in case we get hungry."

Mike chortles as his mom rushes back into the kitchen. He finds his parents- especially his mom- ten times more endearing now that he's away at school, and he thinks it's cute how nervous and clearly excited she is for this sledding trip.

He wishes Tina had agreed to come with them yesterday at coffee, but he can deal with the fact that she needs time and space for now. He can be mature and patient. For the most part.

"Are granola bars okay?"

"Granola bars are fine!"

"I'm gonna grab some water bottles too!"

"_Mom_, we're not going on a weekend camping trip or something-"

"-Just in case we get thirsty!"

Mike shakes his head but laughs, leaning against the staircase banister. He scuffs his boots against the welcome mat at the door, and nearly jumps out of them when the doorbell rings.

"Mom? You expecting someone?"

"No, honey!"

Blinking in confusion, Mike unlocks the front door and pulls at the door handle. Immediately, he can feel his jaw hit the floor.

There, standing in his doorway, is Tina- bundled in a puffy winter coat and matching gloves and knit hat, her cheeks flushed pink and her lips redder than usual from the cold. And in her gloved hands is an enormous box of Junior Mints.


End file.
